Development: Villages of Columbus

Village: Columbus Square

Tract: Meriwether (114 attached townhomes) in the City of Tustin

Builder: Lennar

Schools: Tustin School District (TUSD): Marjorie Veeh Elementary, A.G. Currie Middle, Tustin High

Tax Rate: The anticipated total effective tax rate is approximately 1.8%, which is inclusive of all Community Facilities District (CFD) rates.

HOA Dues: Estimated monthly HOA Dues are approximately $320 (includes both Master and Sub HOA’s).

Deposit Required: $10,000

Plans:

Residence 1 - 2bd/2ba - 1272 sq. ft.

Residence 2 - 3bd/2.5ba - 1706 sq. ft.

Residence 3 - 3bd/3ba - 1922 sq. ft.

<u>PRICING</u>

Phases 1 and 2? (August 2006)

Residence 1 - From $555,000

Residence 2 - From $660,000

Residence 3 - From $687,000

Residence 1 - From $515,000 (Temporarily Sold Out)

Residence 2 - From $660,000

Residence 3 - From $687,000

Phase ? (pricing effective 6/21/2007)

Residence        Price          Change

Residence 1 - $519,000 (+$4,000)

Residence 2 - $649,000 (-$11,000)

Residence 3 - $669,000 (-$18,000)

Prices as of 9/9/2007

Residence 1 - $495,000

Residence 2 - $624,000

Residence 3 - $644,000

Prices as of 10/1/2007

Residence 1 - $494,000

Residence 2 - $599,000

Residence 3 - $624,000

Pricing as of 1/10/08

Residence 1 - $494,000 - Temporarily Sold Out

Residence 2 - $599,000

Residence 3 - $624,000

$25K Flooring incentive

Closing specials but varies on your credit, downpayment, etc.

~$1,100 total taxes, fees, HOAs

Pricing as of 2/5/08

Residence 1 - $494,000 - Temporarily Sold Out

Residence 2 - $569,000

Residence 3 - $599,000

Prices as of 2/23/2008

Residence 1 - $494,000

Residence 2 - $599,000

Residence 3 - $624,000

Prices reported 4/16/2008 (Phase 8)

Residence 1 - $499,000

Residence 2 - $585,000

Residence 3 - $599,000

Phase 1 (& possibly 2) pricing started with the Residence 1 much higher.  They sold through and then stalled.  The price cut (to $515k)  was refunded to buyers that purchased at these prices:
As of Aug 2007
R1- $555,000
R2- $660,000
R3- $687,000
Deposit is $10k
SCHB
 

Here Are Pictures Of This Neighboorhood
 
 

 
 
 

They still have phase 3 & 4 sites available, but say they are going to release phase 5 on 10Feb2007.
SCHB

On the mailing list, and they sent out a notice this week for a something I hadn’t heard of before-  A phone based phase release (sites 52-63).
I don’t have a scanner at home, but they are basically calling people on the priority list from 10am to 5pm.  You need to give them your top three homesite choices on the spot, and complete the purchase agreement and deposit within 5 days.
Anyone heard of this method being used before?  I thought phase releases were all in-person.
SCHB

ya, I know of the Villa Rose track in Woodbury did that before towards end of last year due to low responses.

Strangely, they (Meriwether) raised their base prices slightly, too.  ($2-7k on the plan 2, not sure about the others).
Not sure how well that’s going to work.
SCHB

Lennar (or more specifically Villa Rosa) will shut down its office and will reopen again sometime in the summer, possibly June.  This is to slow down production of homes to maintain its profit margin.  It can only speculate that this is due to low responses.

IIIrvine:
whne did you found that villa rose is shutting down their office?  I know they are not releasing any homes until June / July frame, and all the existing inventory homes have all closed.

I was in their office ~3-4 weeks ago, spoke to Neil, the salesperson there.  There was the last spec home, which I believe was Model 1.  Once that is sold (I don’t have a status on it), the office was to be shut down until summer, and assumably, to be ready for the home shopping season with home deliveries towards the end of the year.  If the market changes, I am certain that plan will change accordingly.  I know that the HBs have been gauging foot traffic, which IMO, does not translate to sales.  However, they are hoping that by artificially suppressing supply, they can force demand, and hence, prices.

Thanks for the information IIIrvine in regards to Villa Rose.  I was told by the sales office weeks ago that the last phase they released were discounted at least 100K for each homes even for the good lots.  Those last spec homes (it is a model 1) is next to a busy internal street, I bet it is discounted by more than 100K, and it might be sold for less than $1mm.

Meriwether reminds me of Sheridan Place in West Irvine.  Especially Plan One.  Can anybody confirm?

It is a duplicate of Sheridan Place.

awesome.  plan 3 has a loft area now (as opposed to just hallway).  smart of the builiders to think of it.

Yeah. For some reason i really like the residence 1 versus the bigger models.

my aunt owns a residence one.  it’s awesome but i don’t like living above garages….. the doors (and car horns) make noise!

Haha I’ve gotten used to it though. I’ve lived in more than one carriage unit.

yeah i can see it both ways

i used to live in a upper condo above neighbors.  thanks to good fortune, the neighbors below me was a nice old lady who lived by herself.

also i think the newer construction is better since they prob seal off garage noise

Yeah. I lived in a carriage unit in Quail Hill and you didn’t hear any noise really. We refuse to live in a home above somebody else.

i like units where you’re entirely above your own garage.  i think new home builders have realized that. 

also i do like upper living spaces, a bit more private.  (ie your model)

I didn’t buy in Meriwether though. I just liked it. Did I confuse you ? lol

oh i was talkin about your model in savannah

i really liked plan 3 in kensington court, but there’s no way in hell i’m buying an attached for 800k.  what is this, new york city?!?! 

The good thing is that even though Kensington Court is pricey for an attached home, they have massive square footages for the price.

Does anyone have an updated pricing sheet and what phase is still selling, last time I checked in looked like phases 3, 4, & 5 still all had properties but doesn’t look like the offical "list" price had gone down, not sure if anyones seen updated prices. 
Also on a broader scale is this a good time to buy into the columbus square area?

noob-
I haven’t been there for over a month, but in general, they were continuing to sell future phases even though there were still straggler properties left from previous phases.
They have kept their prices pretty consistent, a bit to my surprise.  I still think they’ll have a correction coming, but their sales aren’t stalled like some other communities.
You should browse the forums further for insight to you second question.  The general consensus is prices will continue to drop through 2007 and beyond.
-SCHB

Thanks for the followup SCHB, question for all on the board do you know if there is a resource out there to find the actual sold prices on the new development within Coloumbus, to this point it’s been more word of mouth on some properties but the only things online seems to exclude the new development, I’m curious to see if there are actual trends in the negotiated prices phase to phase.  Like those that are causing such an uproar on the Will Lyin side…
Sorry if these questions are well "noobish" but struggling to determine if it’s time to be a first time home buyer versus continuing to rent  Thanks for any help or advice you can all provide.